PM Lee on the state of the 'nanny
state':
There are still limits, but also 'more free
play' in S'pore
HOT
TOPICS: Screengrab of the The Financial Times'
interview with PM Lee on www.ft.com
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong does not
consider the phrase "nanny state" an insult, The Financial Times
reports.
In an
interview with the paper in London recently, Mr Lee was asked if
Singapore was "lightening up a bit".
It quotes him as replying: "I think the fairways
are wider. It doesn't mean there are no limits but it means there
is more free play."
And he explains, with a laugh: "When people say
they don't want a nanny state they are, in fact, in a conflicted
state of mind. On the one hand, they want to do whatever they want
and not be stopped. On the other hand, if something goes wrong,
they want to be rescued."
Mr Lee also feels that while Singaporeans generally
feel more secure these days, "an appropriate sense of insecurity is
very helpful".
He says: "You don't have to be paranoid but you do
have to take risks very seriously."
Taking the long view should remind Singaporeans to
stay on guard, the paper quotes him as saying. The interview also
touched on the crisis in Ukraine and what it means for
Singapore.
He says: "We are a small country, we depend on
international law, treaties and agreements and the sanctity of
these things, and if they can just be overridden or ignored, well,
then we are in serious trouble."
Asked what he makes of the West's reaction and
whether it has been strong enough, he says he doesn't believe the
West can do much more in Ukraine.
"I think you should have thought of that before
encouraging the demonstrators on the Maidan (in the capital,
Kiev)."
Mr Lee was also asked if he envisages a day when
the People's Action Party is no longer running Singapore.
His reply: "It could well happen. I don't know how
it will work but it could happen."
His reply: "It could well happen. I don't know how
it will work but it could happen."
And the paper reports that a little later this is
what he had to add: "It may not be one team in, one team out, it
may be more complicated - you're getting used to more complicated
than that in Britain now."
Snapshot, The New Paper, 13 April 2014, Pg 6
